Hugs and Apologies--We've Waited Too Long 3
by Twoie
Summary: In this third episode of We've Waited Too Long, an unfortunate accident makes Ash and Jessie realize what they really want...each other. No nasty comments about age because Ash is 21 here! R/R please!


Hugs And Apologies We've Waited Too Long 3 By The Great 2ie  
  
Author's note: Unfortunately, I don't own these characters. I kept begging Mr. Miyamoto, but he kept going, "No 2ie, these are MY characters! No 2ie, that's a BAD 2IE!!!" So, alas, I just use them in my story. Enjoy! SPECIAL NOTE: Ash is 21 in this story so please, no nasty emails about the age difference, ok? Cause he's not a kid anymore. Thank you.  
  
STARDATE: 8 YEARS AFTER THE VICTORY OVER LANCE  
  
"Come on, Ash, hurry up!" Misty called over her shoulder as she ran down Route 41. "I'm...hurrying..." Wheezed Ash as he came over the hill behind her. "Well, hurry more!" Misty continued to run across the grass to Olivine City. They had made arrangements to meet Brock and Gold in the cafe to discuss plans to go see the new hit rock group, Concert in the Park. "Misty...will ya...wait up?" moaned Ash, his speed decreasing. Reluctantly, Misty slowed and stopped, and waited as Ash puffed up next to her. "How'd you get so fast?" he asked her. She smiled. "I didn't. You were just so cocky after beating Lance that you got lazy and got out of shape." "Oh...okay. Well come on, let's get to Olivine." "But Ash, I thought you were tired!" He grimaced. "Just...go away." She laughed. "Oh Ashy, you're so funny. Come on!" She grabbed his hand and practically dragged him the rest of the way to Olivine City.  
  
Meanwhile, far away in Celadon City...  
  
Jessie and James were on their break in the Rocket HQ playing Mario Party 3. "Ha ha ha!" Cried James, "I stole your star! I stole your star!" "How'd you like me to steal your ability to make another generation?" she snapped at him. James said nothing and watched as Jessie used her Plunder Chest to take his Boo Bell. Suddenly, the intercom buzzed in the break room. "Jessie and James, please report to my office immediately." Said Giovanni. "By the way, who's winning?" "I am!" Cried Jessie. "I have 5 stars, he only has 3!" "Good girl. Now GET IN HERE!" Shortly, the two were seated in front of Giovanni. "I have a very important task for you..." began the Rocket boss, petting his Persian. (Note: That is not a sick pun! Get your mind out of the gutter!) "I need you to both go to Mt. Mortar, near Ecruteak City. Our partner, Mewtwo, is trapped inside and we need you two to get him free and bring him back." "We didn't know Mewtwo was our partner." Said James in amazement. "There's a lot you don't know." Said Giovanni with a smirk. "Now get moving!" "Yes Boss!" They said, and ran out of the office. "He wants us to go alone? To Mt. Mortar?" whispered James. "Oh stop being a baby! We'll be just fine. Come on, let's get our gear together."  
  
Meanwhile, back in Olivine City...  
  
"So do you have the tickets?" Asked Ash. "Yep!" Said Gold, and he grinned as he flashed 5 tickets to the big Concert in the Park show. "Damn good seats, too." "You da man!" Cried Ash, snatching his ticket. "Oh it will be soooo cool seeing them!" said Misty, starry-eyed. "That bass guitar player, Big Willie, is sooooo dreamy!" "Misty you have 2 chances of getting with him: slim and none. And slim just left town." Said Ash. Misty was now QUITE pissed. "You WISH you could get with me, you jealous creep!" She grabbed his hair and yanked on it. "Oww! Misty, that is quite painful..." As if nothing was happening, Brock started talking to Gold. "So what time does the show start?" "8:00. And if we leave soon we can get there right when it starts." "Cool! I hear they're gonna perform their number 1 song, Brain Stew!" Said Brock, ignoring Ash's screams as Misty gave him indian burns. "Yeah, and I think they're also gonna do Everything To Me." "Didn't the lead singer write that for his girlfriend?" "I think so. Come on, let's pry these two lovebirds apart." Misty had Ash in a headlock now, and Gold said, "Come on, you two... there'll be time for affection after the show." "Hmmmph." Snorted Misty as she released her prisoner. Ash stumbled to his feet. "Auntie Em! Auntie Em!" He mumbled as he followed the others out of the cafe.  
  
Meanwhile, east of Ecruteak City...  
  
"Jessie, how much farther is it to Mt. Mortar?" "Not far. Just a few more miles." "Super." Moaned James as he forced his legs to keep walking. "How come Meowth didn't have to come along and share our misery?" "Because Meowth has a mission of his own." "Really? Him?" "Yeah, something to do with thinning down the population of the Magikarp." James chuckled. "Did he tell you that himself?" "Yeah." James didn't even bother telling her the facts as they continued walking. Soon they came to the looming entrance to Mt. Mortar. "Do you have a Pokemon that knows Flash?" asked James. "We don't need one anymore. The good people at Nintendo fixed that." "Oh...goody." Said James, and they sprayed on some Max Repel and entered the cave. Even though they didn't need Flash, it was still dark and creepy inside. The air was damp, and cries of Zubat and other creepy-crawlies echoed off the stone walls. "How the (WHOOPS) are we supposed to find a Mewtwo in here?" Asked James in disgust. "Relax. Jimbo lent me his psychic power detector. As we close in on the little bastard, this meter will increase." "Ah-ha." "Come on, let's get this over with." They started walking through the maze-like passageways of the cave, and the meter did not move an inch. After an hour or so, James yelled, "God dammit! This place is huge! We're never gonna find that (UH OH)-in Mewtwo!" She put her arm around him. "James, calm down, okay? Just calm down. We've been through worse than this." "I know, but still..." She smiled. "Come on, let's go to the lower floor. Maybe he's there." He sighed. "Okay..." Jessie led the way to the bottom chambers, and after about 20 minutes, she said, "You know, James, that Mewtwo may have found it's way out already. We could be wasting our time." There was no response. "James?" She turned, and gasped to find that James was no longer behind her. "James? Where are you?" She retraced her steps for several yards but still could not find him. "JAMES!!!!"  
  
Meanwhile, west of Mahogany Town...  
  
"We're making great time!" said Brock in delight as he ran alongside Gold and Misty towards Mahogany Town, where the band was performing. Ash, as usual, was lagging behind, out of breath. "Wait up you guys!" He gasped. "No." Said Gold. "It's your own fault. You're 8 years out of shape. Before you became Champion, you'd be ahead of all of us. Blame yourself and nobody else." "Sure..." They continued their trek across the rocky plain, when suddenly Ash stopped and listened. "What's wrong, Ash?" asked Misty. Ash shushed her and kept listening. "Someone's crying." He said finally. He followed the sound and found Jessie sitting on a rock outside Mt. Mortar with her face in her hands. "Hey, Jessie, what's wrong?" he asked, going over to her. She couldn't answer and continued to cry. Ash put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, hey...come on, talk to me. What's got you so upset?" "It's James..." she choked out. "I was in the cave...and we got separated...I...looked for 2 hours and I couldn't find him...he may be lost forever!" "Man...that's not cool." Said Ash, looking at the ground. Suddenly his friends appeared. "What's going on?" Asked Gold. With a sigh, Ash looked up and said, "You guys go on ahead. I'm gonna help Jessie." Misty's eyes widened. "You mean you would miss the Concert in the Park show? For her? Think of all the stuff she's done to us..." "It doesn't matter." Said Ash. "Years ago I would have refused, but now I simply can't. Go." With confused looks, the group resumed their walk to Mahogany. Jessie looked up at Ash with tear-filled eyes. "You...are really going to help me?" He grinned. "Sure! Come on, dry your eyes and let's go."  
  
Sometime later, inside Mt. Mortar...  
  
Ash and Jessie had been walking for about an hour and a half with no luck. "This is hopeless. We'll never find him." Sighed Jessie. "Hey, I've got an idea! I know how we can find him!" "How?" "Well, you said Mewtwo is here somewhere, right?" "Yeah..." "And he's a Psychic Pokemon, which means he could mentally contact us or another Psychic Pokemon." "So how does that help us?" Ash answered by releasing his Espeon. "I can have Espeon contact Mewtwo, wherever he is, and have him guide us to James!" Jessie grinned. "You're a genius!" Ash turned to his Espeon. "Espeon, contact Mewtwo and ask him to lead us to James." Espeon gave a soft meow, then closed his eyes. The small mark on his head started to glow, and then he opened his eyes again. "Well?" Espeon frowned and shook his head. There had been no reply. "Perfect!" growled Ash, looking up at the ceiling. "Just perfect. Come on Jessie, we'll just have to keep looking ourselves."  
  
Much later, somewhere else in Mt. Mortar...  
  
Ash and Jessie sat on the stone floor of the cave. They had given up. It was hopeless. Not only did they have no clue where James was, they also had no clue where THEY were. "So how long do you think we'll be here?" asked Jessie. "I'd rather not tell you." Muttered Ash, tossing some pebbles around. "I never thought it would end like this..." said Jessie softly. "Yeah, I'm probably the last person you'd wanna be stuck in a cave with, huh?" "No...not really. Not anymore." Ash looked up. "What?" "Ash, we've been fighting each other for so long, and I know James and I always made you angry by trying to get your Pikachu, or always getting in the way..." "Hey, don't worry about it. It's over." "Well, I just wanted to apologize. For all the trouble we've brought you." Ash was silent. "And I think that we should, you know, try to get along from now on." "I can't argue with that." Ash looked into her eyes. "It didn't really bother me THAT much, anyway...See, when people have beliefs, they fight for them. Misty, Brock, and I believed in justice and peace. You and the rest of Team Rocket believed in being total assholes. But everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, and if I were to tell you that your beliefs were wrong, I'd have no right to say that." Jessie smiled. "That's very profound, Ash. You seem to have learned a lot." "I guess I have. I guess it just comes with age." "Well, I'm proud of you." After a short silence, Ash said, "There's just one thing in my life that still hasn't been fulfilled." "What's that?" "Finding my true love." Jessie's eyes softened a bit. "You mean, you and Misty aren't like, together?" "Nope. I ain't even interested in her anymore. She's not my type." "I can understand that. Sometimes you just don't click with someone." "Yeah...but it's been so hard being lonely this whole time...with nobody to tell my secrets to, nobody to hold when I'm down..." Jessie was filled with sympathy for him. "Don't you worry. God's kaliedoscope never stops turning, and it moves us all eventually." Ash snorted. "Yeah but you're forgetting one thing...we're gonna die in here! I won't ever find that special someone now!" The sympathy in Jessie's heart was slowly being replaced by something more...something she never knew she had felt for anybody, not even James. "Well, if you could get out of this cave, what type of person would you look for?" "I dunno... someone beautiful, and caring... someone who likes to laugh...someone who...fights...for their...beliefs." This last part he said as Jessie's gaze met his. Jessie didn't know what brought it on. She didn't know why she did it. But in the next moment, she kissed him, her arms around his neck. Suddenly she realized what she was doing and quickly backed away. Ash's eyes were wide. "Jessie...I..." "I'm sorry!" she cried. "I don't know what came over me! I just looked at you and... I'm sorry!" "Hey, calm down. It's okay. I didn't mind at all." Jessie looked up. "Really?" "Yeah. I guess now that we're gonna die soon, I can tell you that I always secretly wondered if you were a good kisser." Jessie's heart was racing. "In fact, I was even gonna ask James, but I never had the chance." He chuckled softly. "Oh well..." Jessie stared into his eyes. "Would you like to find out?" Ash was shocked. But then she was kissing him again, holding him. After the shock wore off, he returned the kiss and put his arms around her. She squeezed him tighter and pressed her lips onto his more firmly. After 5 or so minutes, she pushed him back and smiled. "So does that answer your question?" Ash grinned. "I don't know...I need to do some further analysis." "Well, alright then." She pulled him back to her and kissed him again. This time he went a little further with the kiss, and she sighed softly, realizing that she had been waiting for this for a long time.  
  
15 minutes later, at the exact same location...  
  
"Meow!!! MEOW!!!" Cried Espeon, jumping around wildly. He rammed his head into Ash's back. "MEOW!!!!!" Ash reluctantly stopped the kiss. "What's wrong, Espeon?" Espeon suddenly seemed to freeze in position, and a deep voice echoed through the chamber. "Yo! Dis is Mewtwo! You rang?" "Mewtwo!" Cried Ash, "Please...Jessie's friend, James, is lost in the cave and we need you to help us find him!" "Oh you mean that purple-haired gangsta? He's here wit me." Jessie cried out in delight. "Well where are you?" asked Ash. "I'm chillin on the east end of the second basement. Y'all drop by now." "Will do!" Exclaimed Ash, jumping up. "Come on, Jessie, let's go!"  
  
20 minutes later, on the east end of the second basement...  
  
Ash and Jessie came around a corner, and there was James, leaning back against the wall next to Mewtwo. "So there you are!" cried Jessie. "Do you know how worried you made me?" "I'm really sorry, Jessie." Said James, hugging her. "I just seemed to get lost." "Hey don't worry, baby, I took good care of your boy." Said Mewtwo, standing up. "We had some fun, didn't we, James?" "Yeah, man. That was some good stuff." "Well come on, let's get the hell out of here!" Said Ash. "Maybe we can catch the end of the Concert in the Park show!"  
  
30 minutes later, at the Concert in the Park show...  
  
The band was just finishing their last song when the trio ran into the field. They soon found Misty, Brock, and Gold in one of the front rows. "Where the (CHURCH BELLS) were you?" asked Gold. "Just having some fun inside Mt. Mortar, right Jessie?" said Ash, grinning. She grinned right back. "Okay, you're acting strange." Said Misty. "Oh goody, they're done! I'm gonna go get Big Willie's autograph!" She bolted towards the stage. "Thank you! Thank you!" Said 2ie, the lead singer, up on the stage. "You've been awesome, you really have! Well, our next stop is Dunellen NJ to perform in Washington Park! But y'all stick around here right now, cos coming up next is The Rugby School Orchestra, led by conducter George Markey! Thank you again, and goodnight!!!!"  
  
That night, at Rocket HQ...  
  
Ash had went with Jessie back to Celadon City, just to make sure nothing else bad happened. When they reached the door to her room, Ash said, "So you OK? You're not still shaken up?" "No, I'll be fine. But thank you." She kissed his cheek. "Just forget about what happened in the cave, OK?" "No. I don't want to forget about it." She stared at him. "What are you saying?" "Jessie, in the cave I thought it was just for fun, but afterwards I realized why I enjoyed it so much...Jessie, I've had feelings for you for the longest time." "What???" "It's true. I just...I just never could bring myself to tell you." He looked down. "Hell, I don't even know why I told you now." He turned and started to leave, but then Jessie grabbed him by the shoulders, turned him around and was kissing him once again. "Why do you think I kissed you in the first place?" she asked. "You think that just because we were going to die that I may as well just make out with whoever I'm stuck with?" "Um, no..." "Ash, I've had a crush on you for so long...even while we were still against each other. I would ask myself, 'why are we doing this?' Something snapped inside me, Ash, and I just couldn't hold it in anymore." "Jessie..." said Ash softly, "Are you for real?" "Are you? I never in a million years dreamed you would feel for me how I felt for you. It's a miracle." "But...we really can't. I mean, what will everyone think? Nobody wants to see me and you together. They all want either me and Misty, or you and James... nobody writes stories about me and you." Jessie smiled. "Screw them." Then she kissed him again.  
  
Soon they were in her room, still kissing. Ash had never known Jessie could be like this. It was simply a side of her he never imagined existed. But he didn't want it to end. "Jessie," he said, pulling away, "Do you just have a crush on me? Or are you in love with me?" "I don't know..." She answered with a grin, pulling him closer, "I need to do some further analysis." Ash closed his eyes and put his arms around her as they started kissing once again.  
  
THE END! This story written by The Great 2ie Send me your reviews/comments at: Sideshowmel601@aol.com 


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